Ryder hero Montgomerie fails to make Heritage cut

Colin Montgomerie will never forget September 2004 but his accountant may not look at it so fondly. Monty had the glory of holing the winning putt at the Ryder Cup but by the traditional measure of professional golfers - money - he will have earned not a penny.

Colin Montgomerie will never forget September 2004 but his accountant may not look at it so fondly. Monty had the glory of holing the winning putt at the Ryder Cup but by the traditional measure of professional golfers - money - he will have earned not a penny.

In competition, anyway; he did a company day on Wednesday and presumably his price went up a bit after Sunday night. Montgomerie missed the cut at the German Masters the week before the Ryder Cup and did so again at The Heritage tournament here.

His day did not get off to the brightest of starts with a double-bogey seven at the 10th and he signed off with a 77. "Yes, a bit of jet lag, I suppose. I was tired and I didn't play very well, so there you go," he said. "I have a week off now and that's probably a blessing in disguise."

Montgomerie was hoping to qualify for the American Express World Golf Championship at Mount Juliet in Ireland next week, an elite tournament only for the leaders on the world ranking and the order of merit. Phil Mickelson, the Masters champion who had a dispiriting Ryder Cup, has already withdrawn from the event where Tiger Woods will be trying to win for a third year in succession.

Mickelson will not be at the HSBC World Match Play at Wentworth - first prize £1m - where Woods will join him as a no-show, along with Davis Love, Justin Leonard and Shigeki Maruyama. Sergio Garcia will also be missing from Wentworth because he will be playing a smaller event in Majorca.

Garcia needs to play in Majorca because even though the World Match Play is to count on the Volvo Order of Merit for the first time, it cannot count as one of the minimum 11 events that need to be played. Having expanded the Wentworth field to 16 players, it is astonishing that finding volunteers to play is proving so difficult.

Bernhard Langer, the European Ryder Cup captain, is one of those next in line on the qualification list from the major championships. Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez are the only two players from Langer's team to qualify so far, although Thomas Levet or Padraig Harrington will get in through the order of merit tomorrow.

Harrington needs to finish in the top eight here to do so but having made the cut was at one under. His playing partner, Ian Poulter, the Woburn touring professional, missed the cut but David Howell finished at three under.

Howell was six behind joint-leaders, Phillip Price and Graeme McDowell, who were at nine under. Price, who scored a 67, never got going this year and failed to retain his place in the Ryder Cup. "I thought I might be a bit envious before I started watching," said the Welshman, "but I was really pleased for everybody. The good thing was that everyone contributed.

"I would definitely like to play again," he added. "My wife has informed me that I will be at the K Club in two years time." At the Belfry, Price beat Mickelson, who then went through an entire Presidents Cup and a Ryder Cup only winning once. "Perhaps, I dented his confidence," Price joked.

The Duke's is a tight layout where it is possible to run up a high number in the trees; but Steve Webster hit the sixth green in regulation before putting off and then taking five chips and two putts to hole out for a not-so-perfect 10.